Well, my insider sources are not willing to confirm nor deny the move.

As far as the usage impression goes, Connect betters BSNL only in customer apathy. Though, recently faced with the onslaught of competition, there was a clear directive from the top bosses to shape up or ship out.

Long time back, I had approached Connect office to provide me with dial up connectivity. The screwed up idiot was hell bent on providing me with ISDN- a premium service in his opinion. Despite promises of high usage, they refused to extend the wireline to my place. Interestingly, they were insisting that I pick up CoRDect- a wireless mode of Internet access.

The buyout rumours might be true. HFCL’s script has shown it the way. It rose significantly in yesterday’s day trading on BSE.

Interestingly, Reliance has dug up only those areas in my city where HFCL Connect isn’t offering it’s services. I was indeed surprised in recent times that they are not going to high density zones. Yet, this is just a pointer and perhaps future might reveal the truth.

Reliance would be well poised to get a deal for HFCL. They would have a captive base for landline customers some of them who have been stupid enough to go along with promises of 400 MB “free limit”. However, HFCL had chalked out plans on the lines of Reliance Web World under the brand name “Planet Connect”. They misleadingly claim about surfing at 1Mbps; the bandwidth is distributed to different terminals. Either, this was a ploy to get higher value addition to the imminent sale or stupidity of monumental proportions. HFCL has by and large a small regional player; with no depth of the market. Neither, there is any buzz around the company.

So, it cannot hope to get on even ground with Reliance or Airtel. Plus, it is sorely dependent on bandwidth from the biggies.

Overall, it would be a great buyout for Reliance. A solid deal. And perhaps help them to roll out their Broadband services to exisitng and new customers.

Exciting times indeed. By the way, this is the only place where it is being reported; Google News hasn’t picked this up so far!

You can read the old posts on HFCL Connect:

1) Smaller Telecom Operators of India. I had written in about Connect:

Do we need these smaller players? Well the answer is yes and no. Smaller players lack the marketing muscle of the bigger ones. They are encumbered to localized regions and cannot offer economies of scale. However, the smaller players can offer faster customer response times. Sadly, this fact has not really reflected as far as Connect is concerned. I have mailed and personally talked to the people in charge for extending the services to my area, which they consistently refuse to do so. I gave up in disgust.

2)HFCL Connect- running out of luck?

For how long can they sustain themselves? Spice Punjab has announced plans to expand in other markets. Connect is opening up it’s browsing centres on the pattern of Reliance Web World. While this is belated entry, it is enough to attract puppy crowds towards what they call as Broadband. It seems that much of the time is spent on chatting. So much for the “millions of Internet subscribers” do to access Internet. It cannot be generalised but a cross section of the surfers mainly use for Emailing and the like. A minorty are power users. It remains to be seen as to how HFCL survive.

Airtel hasn’t made any major moves in the market so far.

This post was prompted by imminent buy out by VSNL/ Airtel. It didn’t materialise. Does it mean this Reliance buyout is another rumour? We’d have to wait.

3) In Interesting Developments I had reported back that Connect is setting up it’s Planet Connect showrooms.

Interestingly, the top searches for HFCL Connect point towards this blog

Tags: 1Mbps, Airtel, Broadband, BSNL, DTH, Google, India, Internet, Landline, Opera, Reliance, Reliance Broadband, Telecommunications India, VSNL, Wireless

An open letter to Mr Anil which I wrote in recently. I think it’s appropriate to share here.

Dear Sir,

I must congratulate you for the recent listing on the bourses. I got your email address from the website.

Sir, I write in to say that lack of Broadband Access from Reliance is really hampering the choice available to consumers. It has been in the air for too long that Reliance was to debut it’s services long time back but due to unforseen circumstances, it has been pushed back on the agenda.

I have had the roads dug up near my place with the laying of the ducts. Enquiries from local Reliance office revealed that initial access would be limited to voice calls and Broadband would be delayed by another 3 months. This is the best case scenario, though.

Sir, I am a practising doctor. During the course of my practise, I often need to have access to journals, streaming radios and videos. I am presently stuck up with BSNL, whose insipid plan offerings restricted to 1 GB overall has lead to much heart burn. To add insult to injury, the main head office is incommunicative about any new plan offerings.

I wrote back to Reliance Broadband division asking about the probable date of access. True to their word, they replied in 1 working day but are non commital about the same. They advice me to wait for media announcements to the same effect.

Sir, I would pick up Reliance Broadband for two reasons. First, I have been a long time user of Reliance Mobile services and the quality of access as compared to GSM, left me in no doubt about the same. I am sure, you must have had something similar in mind for Broadband access. Secondly, is the media reports for the content distribtion plans and perhaps a nation wide IPTV roll out would spoil consumers for a choice.

Sir, the future battles would be won on content and content delivery. You own the upstream via Flag and the downstream via last mile access which would leave no stone unturned for your market domination.

However, in my personal opinion and in the forums elsewhere, we all have a reason to hope to Reliance Broadband would do the same thing to access as in the mobile telephony arena which was virtually a stranglehold of few private players prior to your entry in business. I hope this mail be taken in favourable light and your efforts are directed at rejuvenating the Broadband access. Frankly, otherwise, it would take a miracle to make the people switch, given the fact that Airtel is getting aggressive in Wireline access and BSNL virtually owns the last mile access owing to Government monopoly. I have a reason to believe that wireline access would sell on the rider of value added services like Broadband access and content delivery. If BSNL gives me unlimited access at affordable tariffs, it would be difficult to convince my parents to down money to shift over to Reliance.

Finally, customers want choice and superior service. Given the track record of Reliance, I am sure Reliance is perfectly poised for the same.

Tags: Airtel, Anil Ambani, Broadband, Broadband access, BSNL, GSM, IPTV, Media, Mobile, Reliance, Reliance Broadband, Reliance Mobile, Telecommunications India, Value Added Services

Ho hum. We all know about it right?

Well, it seems that Reliance is extending it’s launch date by another 3 months. They do have commercial services in couple of cities but that too in isolated pockets and in “test phase”.

Initially, they are launching/planning to launch Pre Paid landlines. To me, this defeats all the purpose of owning one. However, Broadband would come in much much later. This is as per the “insider source”. Frankly, he wasn’t willing to comment on the pricing details; it hasn’t been finalised as yet. Probably.

So we suffer more wait. IPTV is anyways scheduled for end of this year. Maybe next year or next to next year end. Or probably not!

This is of course coarse and gross stupidity. Reliance would need a miracle to pull this off. With increasingly aggressive BSNL and Airtel, they would need to pull up something really “brilliant” from their hats to make people switch. Unlike the churn in mobiles, people hardly change their landline numbers. So of course, it’s a long term deal that they are looking at.

For years, despite presence of another private player in my neghbourhood, I haven’t shifted from BSNL. Frankly because HFCL Connect offers below par services than BSNL. This is a highly contested claim and it remains my opinion. They don’t reply to mails nor any feedback comes in from their local office. Plus, their assinine refusal to dig up for telephone lines despite the fact that it’s just 500 metres from the main road to my house.

In India, stupidity isn’t limited to BSNL. It’s cross spectrum. Connect in any case is banking on 32k/64k as “broadband” while over pricing the 256k with just 400 MB as free limit. So much for the private telecom revolution.

Reliance/ Connect would really have to entice me with an offer that I can’t resist. For example, using up free 100 GB in a month and then giving a gift coupon or something. Or unlimited bandwidth with assurance coming in from their CMD and 25 Mbps thoroughput; or fibre to home cabling or something similar. Well, in my dreams!

Some day, I tell myself, we wouldn’t need to bitch about ISP’s. Still, 10 years down the line, we would see the broadband revolution limited to urban areas. Till the last mile access is freed, this wont spread to rural areas where it is more urgently required.

Why doesnt this fact register to a babu sitting up and pushing files?

Why doesn’t Reliance understand this either?

Tags: Airtel, Broadband, BSNL, DTH, India, IPTV, ISP's, Landline, Mobile, Mobiles, Reliance, Reliance Broadband, Spectrum, Telecommunications India